LouisvuittonShop Wedding: Emily & Russell

Autumnal and rustic

Emily married Russell on 25 October 2014 at Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire, near the village where Russell's mother grew up. They had been together for 7 years, and the proposal came 18 months earlier on a ski slope in Austria, while the couple were away on holiday with friends. The décor was rustic and autumnal; they wanted the day to feel especially personal and unique, so they handmade all the decorations, and tried to include close friends and family in the proceedings wherever possible.

All images by Ed Godden,

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My wedding dress was the 'Constance' by . As soon as I started looking for dresses, I was immediately drawn to her boho and nature-inspired designs.

When I saw the 'Constance' up close in a shop, I completely fell in love with the intricate lace and delicate design. After finding out the dress was a sample and half price, I bought it there and then, even though the wedding was still 15 months away!

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My wedding hair.

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Anticipating that I would be standing up most of the day, I wanted shoes that were practical and flat.

I found a pair of wonderful handmade tan leather and woven canvas shoes on .

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Russ wore a tweed suit from and double-buckle brogue shoes from .

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His whole outfit perfectly matched my dress and our rustic theme.

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My bridesmaids were my three oldest and dearest girlfriends. I wanted them to wear mismatched dresses, but none of the colours I wanted were in fashion at the time; so we were forced to look beyond high street shops.

On the day though, all our efforts paid off and we complimented each other brilliantly.

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Although we didn't specify a dress code for the groomsmen, they all arrived in suits of a similar blue shade. It all fitted really well with our colour scheme.

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I originally planned to make the bouquets myself, but after finding some beautiful bouquets online, I decided to buy them from .

Looking back now, I'm so glad I did because the flowers were beautiful and I don’t think I would have had the time.

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Russell’s family still have a cottage in North Yorkshire, and after spending many weekends there, we decided on this location because it held many happy memories for us.

The Yorkshire Dales also provided the perfect backdrop for our theme: rustic and autumnal, which reflected our love of nature and seasonality; and we chose Fountains Hall, situated in the abbey estate.

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Being 'given away' solely by my father did not fit comfortably with my feminist ideals, so I was really pleased when mum offered to join us down the aisle.

We share a really varied taste in music and started the ceremony with some classical pieces. A guitarist played Air by Bach as I walked down the aisle. It’s a song that brings back happy memories from my childhood.

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My favourite memory of the day is standing on the hall stairs after the ceremony, seeing everyone we love and care about waiting to shower us with confetti and congratulations.

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The reception was held in two conjoined tipis, positioned to reveal a view of Fountains Abbey in the background.

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The décor was rustic and autumnal. We had hessian table runners, dried flower wreaths, old jam jars tied with lace, and a table plan with embroidered leaves hanging from a tree.

I spent the weeks leading up to the wedding hand making all the decorations with the help of Russ and my bridesmaids. It was a lot of work but seeing our vision realised on the day was worth all the effort.

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There was also a smaller tipi, which cosily housed the bar, seating area and a log fire.

We love the outdoors and camping, but the weather turned really cold a few weeks before the wedding; thankfully, it was perfect on the day and the tipis were really well heated.

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The wedding lasted 12 hours altogether and we didn't want our guests going hungry. We offered canapés at the reception, a 3-course meal for the wedding breakfast and a selection of local cheeses and biscuits later on.

The food was served by who really excelled in terms of taste, service and professionalism.

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Russell's mum is a fantastic cook, so for the wedding we asked her to make an autumnal carrot cake and she did an absolutely wonderful job.

It was richly spiced and beautifully decorated, and we served this as a dessert.

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For our first dance, we wanted something original and not too soppy, so we chose A Real Hero, from one of our favourite movies, Drive.

We asked the band to play I Will Wait For You by Mumford and Sons immediately after so everyone could join in to something more upbeat. All our guests eagerly hit the dance floor and danced round us till the song ended.

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The new issue of LouisvuittonShop Wedding is a dress special. What are you waiting for?

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